Cotton Futures

USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report showed 65% of the US cotton crop setting bolls and 10% of bolls opening as of Sunday, while the share rated good-to-excellent fell 2 percentage points to 40%, pushing the Brugler500 index down 6 points to 319. Cotton futures were mixed at midday, with October down 19 points to 82.53 cents and December off 1 point to 83.85 cents. The Cotlook A Index rose 125 points on August 8 to 95.95 cents, and ICE certified stocks dropped 2,119 bales to 82,513 bales. The Adjusted World Price was raised 163 points last week to 66.29 cents per pound.

Cotton futures are trading 40 to 58 points lower on Friday morning, reversing Thursday's gains of 12 to 24 points. Export sales data for the week ended July 30 showed a net cancellation of 55,855 running bales of 2025/26 cotton, a marketing-year low, while new crop business totaled 242,052 running bales, the third largest for the marketing year. Vietnam was the largest buyer of new crop cotton at 132,400 running bales, with Turkey purchasing 41,600 running bales. Shipments reached 222,830 running bales, led by Vietnam at 88,900 running bales, followed by Pakistan at 35,500 running bales and Turkey at 19,500 metric tons. The Cotlook A Index fell 70 points to 93.00 cents on August 5, and the Adjusted World Price was raised 163 points to 66.29 cents per pound.

Cotton futures are posting modest losses of 3 to 6 points in Thursday morning trading, giving back a portion of the 48 to 71 point gains recorded across the board at Wednesday's close. The Cotlook A Index rose 90 points on Tuesday to 93.70 cents, while ICE certified cotton stocks fell 1,739 bales on August 4 to 84,632 bales. The Adjusted World Price was raised 84 points last week to 64.66 cents per pound, a level effective through Thursday. The NOAA 7-day quantitative precipitation forecast shows continued dryness across much of Texas, with only very light totals in the Gulf and up to an inch of rain in parts of Georgia.

Cotton futures are trading 45 to 78 points lower Tuesday morning, reversing Monday's broad gains of 36 to 85 points. The US cotton crop is now 88% squared, matching the five-year average, and 55% setting bolls, with 4% of bolls already opening, according to the latest Crop Progress report. Condition ratings fell to 42% good-to-excellent, down 4 percentage points from the prior week, while the Brugler500 index dropped 11 points to 325. The Cotlook A Index rose 125 points on Friday to 90 cents, and ICE certified cotton stocks declined by 3,093 bales on July 31 to 87,606 bales. The Adjusted World Price was raised 84 points last week to 64.66 cents per pound.

China's corn, rice, and cotton growing areas are at high risk of damage in the coming days as a heatwave spreads across the northern and eastern regions, which are the country's key agricultural zones. Vaisala, a commercial weather forecasting company, says high pressure will bring hotter-than-normal conditions this week, with Shenyang seeing maximum temperatures between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius through Thursday, August 7, while Beijing will experience temperatures in the low to mid-30s Celsius through this weekend. Meanwhile, the climate center of Shandong province, which accounts for 10 percent of domestic corn output, has warned that temperatures will remain in the mid to high 30s Celsius continuously until at least August 5, potentially affecting the summer corn yield, and high humidity from monsoon moisture could increase the risk of crop disease. In Liaoning province, which produces about 7 percent of the country's corn, officials in Jinzhou city expressed concern that major crops like corn and rice are in a critical growth stage, and that sloping and sandy areas are losing more moisture. Additionally, the heat is blanketing the Xinjiang autonomous region, which grows nearly all of China's cotton, with Xinjiang's climate center issuing a warning that temperatures of at least 35 degrees Celsius will be widespread through August 11, and Turpan could see highs reaching 50 degrees Celsius.

Cotton futures are trading 54 to 92 points lower on Tuesday morning, reversing Monday's gains of 54 to 90 points. The December 2026 contract, which closed at 80.88, is currently down 91 points. Weekly Crop Progress data showed 81% of the US cotton crop squared and 45% setting bolls, both matching the five-year average pace, while condition ratings improved one percentage point to 46% good to excellent. The Cotlook A Index was unchanged at 90.35 cents, and ICE certified cotton stocks held at 94,235 bales.

Cotton futures are trading 12 to 19 points lower on Monday morning. On Friday, front-month contracts settled with losses of 7 to 129 points while deferreds gained 3 to 4 points, and December cotton was up 135 points for the week. The Commitment of Traders report showed managed money spec funds increased their net long in cotton futures and options by 3,525 contracts to 53,209 contracts in the week ending Tuesday. Export sales data shows accumulated 2025/26 cotton sales at 12.003 million running bales, which is 102% of the USDA export projection with two reporting weeks left in the marketing year, while new crop business has reached 2.526 million running bales, up 28.05% from last year. The Cotlook A Index rose 75 points on July 23 to 90.35 cents, and the Adjusted World Price was trimmed by 155 points to 63.82 cents per pound.

China's Ministry of Commerce issued a statement on the 27th demanding the full repeal of additional tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under Section 301 of the Trade Act. In remarks by a spokesperson, it criticized the measures as unilateral and indicated a willingness to take countermeasures. It denied the forced labor issue cited as the basis for the tariffs, stating that it does not exist in China, and expressed the view that it is merely a political pretext. The US Trade Representative's investigation report had cited cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and polysilicon used in solar panel raw materials as examples of forced labor products.

The National Council of Textile Organisations warned that a textile mechanism clause in the Trump Administration's new tariffs will harm US textile manufacturers. The mechanism offers relief from Section 301 duties for textile and apparel imports from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia based on those economies' imports of US cotton and textiles through tariff-rate quotas. NCTO president and CEO Kim Glas said the tariff benefits for Asia will come at the expense of US textile manufacturers and the Western Hemisphere, which is the destination for 70% of total annual US textile and apparel exports. The council noted that Asia's US market share has expanded from 77% to 79% since 2019 while the Western Hemisphere's share narrowed from 16% to 12%, and that removing duties on Asian apparel imports will accelerate these trends. The NCTO urged the administration to focus on enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act instead.

The Bezos Earth Fund, where Lauren Sánchez Bezos serves as vice chair, announced $34 million in grants to develop breakthrough materials for the fashion and textile industry. The funding is split across four research tracks: Columbia University and the Fashion Institute of Technology will share $11.5 million to grow textile fiber from bacteria fed on agricultural waste, UC Berkeley receives $10 million for a biodegradable fiber inspired by spider silk, Clemson University gets $11 million to gene-edit cotton with built-in color and performance, and the Cotton Foundation receives $1.5 million to restore a non-GMO cotton seedbank. The announcement came days before the 2026 Met Gala, where Bezos and Sánchez Bezos served as lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs, sparking protests over worker exploitation at Amazon and accusations of image laundering. Critics also questioned the sincerity of the move given Amazon's position as the world's largest clothing retailer and its rising absolute carbon emissions, while the fund aims to drive performance up and premiums down for next-generation materials.

Cotton futures fell sharply on Thursday, with midday prices down 260 to 396 points from Wednesday's close. The October 2026 contract dropped 396 points to 76.6 cents, December 2026 lost 302 points to 78.53 cents, and March 2027 declined 300 points to 79.93 cents. Export sales data showed a marketing-year low of 34,360 running bales sold for the 2025/26 season in the week of July 9, while new crop sales hit their lowest since September at just 4,075 running bales. Shipments totaled 214,893 running bales, down 10.8% from the same week last year, with Vietnam as the leading year-to-date buyer at over 4.2 million bales. The Cotlook A Index fell 75 points to 89.95 cents, and ICE certified cotton stocks decreased by 20,673 bales to 100,612 bales.

Cotton futures are trading with losses of 25 to 47 points on Friday morning, extending the previous session's declines. At Thursday's close, futures were down 4 to 24 points across the board as the July contract expired. Export sales data for the week of July 2 showed 66,422 running bales of cotton sold for the 2025/26 marketing year, nearly triple the same week last year, with Vietnam and India as the top buyers. New crop sales reached a three-week high of 86,971 running bales, led by Vietnam and Turkey. Shipments totaled 230,056 running bales, up from the prior week's 18-week low but down 10.05% from the same week in 2025.

Cotton futures are trading with 90 to 98 point losses on Thursday, correcting from Tuesday's near-limit gains. Outside markets are stronger, with crude oil up $4.09 after the US struck Iran and President Trump stated the ceasefire is over, while the US dollar index is up $0.087. Monthly trade data from Census showed 1.46 million bales of exports during May, a 3-year high and 15.3% above a year ago, but down 6.88% from a year ago. The Seam reported just 94 bales sold on July 7 at an average of 65.76 cents, while the Cotlook A Index was up 150 points at 87.30 cents. ICE certified cotton stocks were down 95 bales on Tuesday via decertification, with the certified stocks level at 184,939 bales, and the Adjusted World Price was back down 194 points last week at 61.94 cents per pound.

Cotton futures fell 100 to 198 points on Tuesday morning after China imposed a 15% tariff on imports of US cotton in retaliation for an additional 10% US tariff on Chinese goods. There are 250,100 running bales in unshipped sales to China. The May 25 contract was down 198 points after closing at 65.51 cents per pound on Monday, while the Cotlook A Index fell 25 points to 77.25 cents per pound on February 28. The USDA cut its Adjusted World Price by 78 points to 53.89 cents per pound on Thursday afternoon.

Cotton futures are trading lower on Thursday morning, with front-month contracts down 5 to 82 points. The decline follows Wednesday's settlement gains of 115 to 204 points across most contracts. Crude oil was down 17 cents at $75.88, while the US dollar index rose $0.981 to $100.26. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday after its two-day meeting. Trading will conclude for the week today, as markets are closed Friday in observance of Juneteenth.